Recent technological advances have facilitated the decrease in size of portable electronic devices such as portable music and video players and cellular telephones. Engineers have been able to reduce the size of circuitry and electronic components in electronic hardware such as the storage, memory and power supply units. However, the overall size of these devices is heavily influenced by the size and shape of its external mechanical components such as enclosures, input mechanisms (for example, switch components) and cosmetic components. These mechanical components pose several constraints on the reduction of the size of the devices. For example, switches used for powering or operating electronic devices can be relatively bulky because several mechanical components may be needed to transfer mechanical force applied by a user to switching an electrical circuit. Moreover, additional mechanical components may be required on the switches for cosmetic and informative purposes.
Typically, engineers attempt to minimize the size of these mechanical components by rearranging the device's electronic components to allow for a more compressed layout. Such rearranging can be cumbersome and at times nearly impossible given the constraints imposed by electrical circuit layouts and the size of the electronic components.
Accordingly, there is a need for smaller and more compact switching assemblies.